Title

Author

Date of Award

Fall 1992

Degree Type

Thesis - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Physics

First Advisor

Pedrotti, Frank L.

Second Advisor

Day, A.

Third Advisor

Tani, S.

Abstract

The growing interest in the properties of rare-earth (RE) doped III-V semiconductors has been stimulated in recent years by their possible applications in opto-electronic devices. The RE Er is of particular interest in this regard, as the wavelength of the characteristic 4I13/2 to 4I15/2 emission of Er3+, 1.54 um, is very well matched to the minimum-loss region of silica-based optical fibers at 1.55 um. There are several characteristics of RE centers in III-V's that have a direct bearing on the optical efficiency, but are still not well understood. These include the lattice site, equilibrium charge state, and luminescence excitation mechanism. The present work is a study of the electrical properties of gallium arsenide (GaAs) with implanted Er. The Van der Pauw method was used to measure electrical properties: carrier type, Hall mobility, carrier concentration, sheet resistivity, and their temperature dependences. study of these electrical properties, supported by photoluminescence research, will ultimately help to understand the excitation mechanism of luminescence.